NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Belgium sued: Five women who were taken from their families as children in Belgian Congo and placed in a religious mission run by Catholic nuns have filed a lawsuit seeking reparations from Belgium. Their complaint comes amid growing demands that Belgium reassess its colonial past. In the wake of protests against racial inequality in the United States, several statues of King Leopold II, who is blamed for the deaths of millions of Africans during Belgium’s colonial rule, have been vandalized and a petition has demanded that Belgium remove all of his statues. The women now live in Belgium and France after emigrating from Congo and have requested compensation of $55,000 each but are are also seeking broad reparations for all children seized from their mothers and placed in institutions during the colonial era.
2 Civilian casualties: The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said its findings indicate the Afghan military had mistakenly fired the mortars this week at a busy market in southern Helmand province that inflicted heavy civilian casualties. According to a statement from the office of the Helmand provincial governor, Gen. Mohammad Yasin, a car bombing and mortar shells struck the market in Sangin district on Monday, killing 23 people, including children. Both the Taliban and the Afghan military blamed each other for the attack.
3 Syria summit: The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran on Wednesday discussed efforts to stabilize Syria in a video call, emphasizing the need to promote a political settlement for the nineyear conflict. Russia and Iran have staunchly supported Syrian President Bashar Assad throughout the country’s war, while Turkey has backed his foes. However, the three countries have pooled their efforts to help end hostilities. Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the need to deal with a few pockets of militant resistance. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani used the call to urge the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Syria to allow Assad’s government to fully reclaim control of the country’s territory.
4 Rehab center slayings: Gunmen burst into an unregistered drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico and opened fire Wednesday, killing 24 people and wounding seven, authorities said. Police said the attack occurred in the city of Irapuato. Three of the seven wounded were reported in serious condition. Apparently the attackers shot everyone at the rehab center. State police said nobody was abducted. Photos purporting to show the scene suggest those at the center were lying down when they were sprayed with bullets. Guanajuato is the scene of a bloody turf battle between the Jalisco cartel and a local gang, and the state has become the most violent in Mexico. No motive was given in the attack, but Gov. Diego Sinhue Rodriguez Vallejo said drug gangs appeared to have been involved.
5 Migrants feared dead: Up to 60 migrants may have been trapped in a boat that sank in an eastern lake last week, Turkey’s interior minister says. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who traveled to Van to oversee the rescue, said authorities estimated the boat went down in stormy weather. Last year, seven migrants drowned while 64 others were rescued when their boat capsized in Lake Van, which is close to the boundary with Iran but lies within Turkey’s borders. The lake is situated along a major transit route for migrants coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. Turkey, which hosts about 3.7 million Syrian refugees, is a main crossing point for migrants trying to reach Europe. Soylu said Turkey had detained 454,000 migrants last year.